Robert Morris women’s basketball notched their third win of their 2017-18 season Wednesday night against the Youngstown State Penguins to bring their overall record to 3-3. The Colonials routed the Penguins 84-52.

Here are a few takeaways from today’s match up versus Youngstown State.

Slow Start: Robert Morris started off the game a little shaky, letting the Penguins shoot 4-for-9 from three-point range. In the first two possessions of the game, Youngstown State ran plays to score two uncontested layups.

The Colonials stepped up their defense after the first media timeout, allowing the Penguins to score only nine more points the rest of the first quarter. Better perimeter defense down the stretch forced a great shooting Youngstown State team to finish 11-for-31 from three-point range.

If the Colonials want to repeat as conference champions, getting a fast start is a necessity.

Seniors played like seniors: Jocelynne Jones played an outstanding game, collecting 15 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. With her minutes doubling this season, the 6’0” forward will continue to see more opportunities on the floor.  

Senior Megan Smith neared a double-double with seven points and 12 rebounds and senior Mikalah Mulrain shot perfect from the floor, going 5-for-5. With only 3 combined turnovers between the 3 seniors, expect this trio to lead this young team to more dominant wins.

Even without senior Shakema Dashiell, the Colonials found ways to get the job done. The Colonials can expect more offensive help with Dashiell on the floor throughout the season.

Turnover issue improving: After a rocky 27 turnover start against Michigan State, the Colonials are learning to have more ball security. While still committing 13 turnovers, Robert Morris is showing that with more games played, team chemistry builds. Freshman players, including point guards Honoka Ikematsu, Nina Augustin and Megan Callahan, all showed better ball security throughout the game.

While the Colonials turned the ball over 13 times, they forced the Penguins to turn the ball over 17 times. With this, the Colonials scored 21 points off turnovers and scored 10 points off the fast break.  

They can rebound and score the ball really, really well: Robert Morris shot 57.9% from the field and 52.9% from behind the arc tonight. The Colonial’s mid-range game was consistent and the team scored 40 points in the paint. Players distributed the ball well and found open shots throughout the entirety of the game.

The Colonials scored over 20 points in two different quarters and seemed to never take their foot off the gas.

Rebounding the ball seems to be a strong point for the Colonials. Robert Morris out-rebounded Youngstown State 40-18. With 3 senior forwards, expect this rebounding clinic to continue. Of course, forcing the opponents to shoot 36.7% from the field allows a team to rebound the ball at will.

You get a point; everybody gets a point: All nine players for the Colonials scored at least 6 points and got double-digit minutes in Wednesday night’s win. With each player shooting and making, shots throughout the game, Robert Morris can find itself beating teams easier later on in the season.

The starters got a lot of help from the bench tonight too. The Colonials outscored the Penguins 31-7 off the bench.

With such an impressive win tonight, the Colonials seem to be on their way to a third straight Northeast Conference championship.